Ethnography provides a real-world way of looking at a problem or opportunity, applying social and cultural understanding to a topic, so an online banking website would be organized in a simple readable and thinking more of how the user would think and interact with the site and display what the user would most likely be looking for on the main page instead of making the user search through many links.
A design may be considered finished when the criteria of the objective is met as well as being the most user friendly version. Although there is always room for improvement, designers are always looking to better objects or web sites among many other things to improve the user experience. So really a design is never truly complete. “Designers are in the unique position to improve all aspects of human life, including the visual, emotional, and experiential. Interaction Design should be desirable- beautiful, elegant, and appropriate- regardless of the medium chosen to embody a solution”(60). A successful design is one that the user can use with ease and without having to work hard to come to a solution. A successful design serves its intended purpose honestly. The purpose is to be as honest with a design as possible and to enhance the user’s experience.
The most frequent object I use is probably my hair brush, I usually have one that lasts a very long time maybe a few years. I normally use a conair brand because I’ve always used that brand and have had much success with it. The bristles never fall out even after a few years, as well as the grip and handle are sturdy yet comfortable. The only reason I’ve had to replace one is when I used an off brand and the handle snapped but really it wasn’t a conair brush. I have very long and thick hair that tangles from wearing hats all the time so I brush it quite often, but I’m always able to brush them out. I know conair makes a lot of other products and I actually also have a hair straightener and blow dryer from them. I feel that its because I’ve always used that brand and when I tried a different brand it never seems to work out the way I expect it to, holding it to the same standards as my hair brush. I feel that even though conair doesn’t advertise like it used to many people already use and know its a strong brand with reliable products because they have lasted as a company for so many years and even have lines of designs for younger children and all hair types.
Thoughts on Interaction Design: Chapters 3, 4, & 5 Responses
What information can ethnographic tools give you to improve the interactivity of an online banking website?
Ethnographic tools can provide some insights on the ways in which people live and what they value. If an online banking website can use these tools to better understand the lifestyles of their customers, they can improve the interactions between the user and the interface. Studying people can reveal how they respond to particular prompts and situations, and understanding this is part of the design process, for an effective design will be built upon the research in order to best serve the user/customer.
At what point is a design finished? What makes it a success? What is its purpose?
One could certainly argue that a design is never truly finished. However, when someone feels confident enough that the design does its job in an efficient manner, it can be considered finished for the purpose of the job. If the designer can see that something should be tweaked, he or she should tweak it before considering it done. One way of measuring both whether a design is finished and whether or not it was a success is by seeing that an outsider can understand and use the design in the way it was intended by the designer to be understood and used. Ultimately, the design’s purpose is to solve a problem and make life easier. If it can do both, it has fulfilled its purpose.
Identify a product family you use regularly (can be anything from technology to consumables except for coffee). How has its branding affected your use, relationship and experience with the product?
One product family I use regularly is Apple products. Its branding has affected my use with their products in that they all work in much the same way and are easily connected with one another, so the uniformity that is part of their brand has simplified how they are used. I feel almost connected to the brand because of Apple’s presence in my life; I am even using an Apple product to complete this assignment. They are involved in many aspects of my life, which has resulted in a positive relationship with Apple. As a result, my positive associations with the products help to promote generally positive experiences with the brand and offer it a favorable position in my mind as the consumer.
New Idea
I was tasked with trying to figure out a new way to open a door using only your foot. I think that this would be a cool and sometimes useful invention to make. I had a couple of ideas for this project. The first idea I came up with was making just like a hole in the door that would be big enough for a shoe to fit in. This hole could have a fabric liner so that it would not scratch your shoe of your foot if you are barefoot. For this product, all the user would do is insert their foot into the hole and simple turn their foot up or down to grasp the door. Then the user would simply just pull their foot back until it opened and then remove their foot. The door would have to have some sort of spring on it so that once you start pulling it open it would open the rest of the way. Then it would stay open for a set period of time or until you pull it back shut with your foot. The next idea I had for this product was using a part of a saddle. My idea is that you could attach the foot holder from a saddle onto the bottom half of the door. To open the door, the user would simply place their foot in the foot holder and pull their leg back to pull the door open. My last idea is similar to hotel rooms with the key card slot. My product would have a sensor on the bottom and another sensor that would go in or on your shoe. The shoe sensor would just have to be waved in front to the door sensor to tell the door to open. having the sensor in the shoe would make it so that the door would not be opened due to an animal or pet running in front of the door. I believe that these ideas could all be useful, but all would need more work on them to make them ready to be produced.
Thoughts on Interaction design Ch. 3 4 & 5
Ethnographic tool are research tools like observation, interview, survey and analysis that help you to learn more about certain cultures. By using these tools you can get information to and for your customers or users in a way that they understand and that is relevant to their cultural ways. This is a good way to satisfy your customer and get them to return to you or your business.
Designs can be finished at different point depending on the designer and his or her point of view on the design. Some people think that as soon as someone has tested the ensign and it works for what it is said to then the design is finished. Others think that its just as soon as the design is able to meet the goals and objectives set forth for it then it is done. some designers believe that a design is never really done. They think that it can always be improved upon. In my opinion, a design is a success if it meets the criteria set forth for it and does so in a way that is easy for the user and is user friendly. The purpose of a design can come in many forms, but it is simply put as what the intended objective of the product is supposed to be.
I think that Apple products have influenced my life in many ways just since coming to college. I didn’t get my first smart phone until the end of me senior year of high school. Also, I didn’t really do much of anything besides basic phone things for the first six months or so. When I was looking at laptops for college I learned that I needed a mac with as much RAM and memory as I could afford. Since I got my computer, I started using my phone a lot more as well because the programs and applications as all so similar and run the same from machine to machine. I love the easy usability of Apple products and how easily you can catch on to them. Now as I am looking to get a new phone, I don’t even want to look at anything else. I don’t want to have to learn to use a new phone and since IPhones are all so similar, I don’t have to worry about that with a newer IPhone. This is why Apple is my new technology of choice.
Thoughts on Interaction Design Ch 6
Chapter six talks about judgement and shifting negative behavior. Norms are behaviors that are common for people within a certain culture or group. If someone thinks that one a design goes against the norms that they believe in then they tend to have a judgement of the design which could resulting a negative behavior. Judgements can cause a cultural shift in society if the judgement is spread wide enough throughout the viewers. This chapter also talks about discursive design. This is a category of design that treats products as ideas rather than just “instruments of utility”. The last thing talked about in chapter 6 is shifting negative behavior through design. Negative behaviors can be shifted by making people rethink their stance on a product. Also, negative behaviors can be shifted by changing a product and re-introducing it to the negatively influences customers.
Thoughts on Interaction Design: Chapters 3, 4, & 5
Ethnographic tools can provide you info by observation, interviewing, and analysis of people, their social groups and populations. This provides a social and psychological take on people’s activities. These tools can be used to improve the interactivity of an online banking website by checking the user statistics and analytics. This would give you the ability to check what the average user clicks on and morph the page to be more user friendly.
Knowing when a design is finished is within the designer’s mental state. If the designer believes that they can walk away from it and leave it be; then it met their purpose. The design must meet the designer’s criteria, strategy, and goal. Overall a design is never finished because there will always be something to adjust, develop, or change over time.
A product family I use regularly is Dove, and it’s branding has influenced my future purchases with them to try their new products. Their branding shows empowered women wanting to smell, feel good, and feel refreshed. They commercialize real women trying the product and show what harsher products do. This has strengthened the relationship I’ve had with the brand because I can relate to the women and their wants and needs.
Ch 3,4,5 reading response.
By studying the type of people are using your site it is much easier to predict their behaviors. In the case of a banking website ethnography is important because almost everyone uses a bank and many use the banks website to do different tasks. Using a persona and a made up story about that person may help lead to a problem in the site that you would have never thought even was a problem. Knowing that a 65 year old woman who has never used online banking will need more explanation than a 25 year old who is trying to save for retirement. designing for the state of mind that the user is in when using a site is just as important as the features on the site.
A design can not truly be finished in my opinion, there is always a problem that will arise, even if it doesn’t appear for years after the design is in effect. The reading talks about it being finished not when you meet your own goals, or when you like at all, instead the author considers the user the final call in a products completion. Does it work, is there more to do, am I satisfied. These are some of the questions the user will ask themselves, and after those questions they will decide the completion of the project.
I only buy levi’s pants. This sounds crazy considering they are just one of dozens of clothing companies available to me, but there’s a lot going into me wearing their pants. They are cheap in comparison to some brands but definitely expensive in my mind, so really I could just buy lee’s or arizona jeans, but I only buy levi’s. Branding is a very important factor in my buying, and I am somewhat aware of this, but I go along with it anyway. The commercials for the product are typically young people living life free of problems, throwing on a pair of jeans and going out on the town. Then the name and badges on the jeans are pure Americana, and pushes the authenticity of the pants. That’s the whole idea, the authenticity of your clothes, your actions, and your life. Plus they are comfortable and have a great minimalist logo.
Objectified Response
Objectified explores a plethora of mindsets and definitions of design. It features real people from the world of design. Each brings their own experiences and ideas to the table. This makes for a very interesting viewing.
Design is made up of a lot of things. Everybody has an answer for “what is design?” The truth is, no answer is wrong. A lot was said in Objectified. “Design is art.” “Design is simple.” “Design is the search for form.” All of these can be true, but a question that hovers around throughout the film is “what makes a design good?” Plenty of answers can be found. A couple of things that stood out to me early on were the Japanese toothpick and the shot of two plates containing the same food. The toothpick had multiple uses. These uses depend on the culture, there was a feature that was used very commonly in Japanese culture that would have no use in other cultures such as American. I believe the two food dishes were shown to showcase the different eating habits of the two people enjoying their meals. One was very neat and organized, the other absolutely destroyed his meal. These two examples show just how different people can be. This leads me to believe that a good design should be able to satisfy the needs of different people. It shouldn’t cater to a specific type of person. Now, it’s impossible to satisfy EVERY person, but your audience is going to shrink if you don’t expand your target. Another attempt at answering this question was when one designer brought up the fact that there are objects that were made decades ago that are still used today. Examples would be cars or furniture. It can be inferred that “good design” should stand the test of time.
The range of ideas that Objectified considers is interesting. It’s a lot to digest. Every designer had his/her own definition of design and what he/she though made for a good design. The most interesting part: I didn’t hear a single thing I disagreed with.
Objectified Response
Listen to what they say about what good design is:
Good design is simple, understandable, clear, and pleasing. It makes people think, “of course it is that way.” It’s making something that becomes of deeper meaning. There was a speaker in the video that used the example of, “the chair dad sat in.” This is the job of designers.
What is a designer’s purpose today? What is their job?
Designers need to make sure the things they make are clear and understandable. Designing is the search for form nowadays. It is about making stuff that people want to buy. In addition, things aren’t forever and companies want lots of new ideas. Designers need to ask themselves, “Am I making something that is a change?”
What should designers do?
Designers should make one thing do multiple things. They need to create an environment where others feel comfortable. Designers should think about what is going to happen, not what has happened already. Design with this in mind: would you buy this?
Do you agree/disagree with any of their statements?
I agree with making things simple and efficient. I believe this goes hand and hand with a really good user experience. I agree that things should feel better with use, as the product is being worn in.
Did they say anything that changes your view on design?
It really got me thinking when the man said about things being extremely hard to design that get better with use. Also, early in the movie a speaker said about worrying about extremities of whatever you are designing, and the middle ground will be taken care of automatically. This was honestly the exact opposite of what I thought designers would do. Additionally, the comment of good design being as little design as possible was a new thought to me.
What is design?
My definition of design is having ideas to improve daily life without users thinking about it.
Objectified
We recently watched a movie titled, Objectified, in it there were many designers from across the globe and we saw how each handled design differently and creatively. I really agree with Dieter Rams and his definition of Design, design must be innovative, aesthetic, understandable, long lived, consistent, eco friendly, and have as little design as possible. This actually made a lot of sense and I agreed with a lot of what he said and what he thinks design means. I feel that my original ideas of design were in his ideas as well as changing my ideas in to those more sophisticated ideas. I never would have thought of less as more for design, I always wanted my designs to be complex and sophisticated but watching Objectified made me realize that less can and is more when it comes to design. It must be simple for the average user and easily understood across the grid. Simple design is in much of what I see and use today. Everything is made to be as user friendly as possible and will be successful with out all the fancy extras. My Idea of design hasn’t so much changed but evolved, my ideas were validated and some evolved into a deeper understanding of what is a good design and what is not. But also what it takes to brainstorm a good design idea before actually putting it into action.
Objectified
How do they define design?
The designers in the movie defined design in many different ways some as form, mass production, and others as how we interact with a product.
What makes good design?
Things that make a good design are products that improve things without the user knowing. Also little design/less is more or innovative with pleasing aesthetics. Lastly sustainability of the product/design is necessary.
What should designers do?
They should make a change in the world or market they are in. They should tell people what to do without them knowing. Also they must look into the future and find better with use for things.
Do you agree or disagree?
I agree with what these designers have said about design and what makes it good. I have always believed the least amount of design the better.
change how you see design?
This movie did not change how I saw design because I agreed with most of what they said already.
What is design? has your idea changed.
Design, good design at least, is the things we don’t think of as design at all. Something should make so much sense as how it is that it wouldn’t make sense looking or acting in any other way.
Objectified
Last week in class we watched the film Objectified in which designers discussed the industry of product design. The film was very interesting with a diverse cast of interviewees all across the world, it also did a good job of covering many different topics relating to the industry.
As far as my opinion on the topic is concerned, I am by no means an expert in how to design a product for use in the real world, having made very little in the way of consumer products. Even so I could still understand where some of the designers were coming from. Some of my favorite discussion came from the idea that everything that we use and take for granted each day was designed, and probably had a story to it. Some of the designers agree that if a design goes unnoticed it is doing it’s job, but I think if anything that’s just too broad a statement. In my own life I try to make decisions on things on a case by case basis, and I think this should go for design as well. Not everything should just fade into our lives and be taken for granted, something can preform well and still make the user think, “this product is astounding.” at least every once in a while. As I was saying though I do agree with many other ideas mentioned, specifically the thought that you have to strip away the unimportant aspects of a design in order to get the best product. Minimalism is the key in my opinion, to creating a long lasting design. This is because trends in style come and go but a useful product can be used until something takes it’s place, not because it becomes ugly.
Some things discussed did ring very clear to me and made me start thinking about a topic I never have considered in this way before, the idea of product life cycle. Prior to watching the film I never thought about the flip side of the extreme pace of innovation in modern technology. If I put my tube television out on the curb it disappears, then I never think of it again except to curse it for having such a terrible picture. It goes somewhere though, and in most cases it seems like that place isn’t very economically friendly. The problem of a short life cycle is probably the thing that will stick with me from this film, and constantly make me question what the unintended consequences of innovation are.
Overall my definition of design has not really changed, everyone has a different way of saying it, or their own ideas about what goes into good design. I truly believe that design is much too large to throw under one sentence, but in the spirit of hypocrisy; design is the way we shape our world to fit ourselves, to make life easier, and to make things more beautiful.
“Objectified” Response
In “Objectified”, one of the beliefs that many of the designers held is that the purpose of design is to create something that will stand the test of time. I whole-heartedly agree with this statement. What is the purpose of creating anything if it will cease to exist shortly after? To put your heart in to your work, is to leave your own mark on the world, so why would you want that to fade away? I would want my work to survive movements and be looked upon even after I am gone. This goes hand-in-hand with creating something that makes a person feel. Emotion is the best seller of any product, including art. If you are to put all of your emotions in to your work, you would want others to feel it, too.
Something that made me rethink design is that to be a designer you must create for others, especially if you work for corporations and businesses that might go against your own beliefs and values. I design because I love art and enjoy creating it for myself, but there will be a day when I may want to take my own artistic direction that the person paying me does not agree with. It is something that will stick with me in the back of my head. It made me realize that I will have to pick and choose my values which could result in difficult decisions in the future.
The ultimate question is “what is design?” To me, design is a statement and a life style. To be able to successfully design means that you have a sharp and detailed eye, an ability to know if your creation works, and to know how to evoke feeling from your viewer. Design is a mix of art, marketing, psychology and so many other fields that can help you delve deep below the surface of simply putting images and typography on to a page. You create a message with your work and it is something that must constantly be developed and changed, so that is relevant over the years and ages.
Thoughts on Interaction Design: Chapters 1 & 2
Interaction design is made up of words defining the interaction, visual representation that the user interacts with, the physical aspect, time in which the design develops and changes, and the behavior of the users actions in reaction to the interface of the design.
Some of the industries challenges include finding the problem within the design and making a solution, understanding the wants and needs of the users, and accomplishing their own wants and needs.
Interaction design is a step-by-step process in which designers create appealing interfaces to give the user a better experience. It’s evolving through new technology, emerging science, and the growing demand for new apps, sites, and products. Some examples include 360-degree videos for your phone applications and the production of holographic technology. This draws knowledge from science, visual design, marketing, and engineering fields.
Thoughts on Interaction Design: Chapters 1 & 2 Responses
What makes up interaction design and what are some of the industry’s challenges?
Interaction design is made up of six different phases in completing a project. It involves defining the design problem or opportunity, discovering hidden wants, needs, and desires, synthesizing, creating, refining, and reflecting. It is a complex process of attempting to understand users and what they are looking to obtain from the final output. Challenges to the industry include the complexity in people’s changing wants and desires, changing lifestyles, new technologies, and maximum usability efforts.
What is interaction design, how its evolving. What fields does it draw knowledge from?
Essentially, interaction design is “a creative process focused on people” (pg 20). Based on how people react to and interact with the world around them, interaction designers design engaging user interfaces intended to offer maximum user satisfaction and usability. With evolution in technology comes evolution in interaction design. Changes among people also impact the process in interaction design. Among other fields, it draws knowledge from marketing, engineering, and distribution. Marketing is essential to ensure that the brand is both consistent and compelling. Knowledge and expertise in engineering ensures that a product is functional, which becomes increasingly important in new technology. Distribution knowledge is critical in moving a product into the market in a way that will make it thrive in a timely and cost-effective way. In addition, knowing ethnographic information about people and using language to appeal to them will aid interaction designers in successfully completing their tasks.